Protection for Future Frost
by MelRose7625
Summary: The Man in the Moon has given the Guaridans a mission: protect Colonial teenager Jackson Overland from the Boogeyman AKA Pitch Black. Only Manny knows why this boy is so important, and the Guardians will find out in due time. HUMAN!Jack
1. Prologue

Pitch smirked as he watched young Colonial teenage mortal Jackson Overland tickle his little sister, Pippa, into bed. This happened every night. Pippa wouldn't want to go to bed and ignore her mother. Her mother would send Jackson to put her to bed because she always listened to her brother. Jackson would chase her around the house, force her into her nightgown, and tickle her while dragging her into the bed.

The tickling and laughter continued until Pippa was too tired to continue. Jackson then gave her her teddy bear, covered her up, and gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Pippa," he'd whisper before blowing out the candle and quietly shutting the door behind him.

For once, it didn't bother Pitch as golden sand seeped in through the window, curling over Pippa's head and sending her into a wonderful dream about flowers and butterflies. She wasn't the one he was after.

"Soon, Jackson," Pitch chuckled in the darkness as he morphed to the hallway to see the candle in Jackson's bedroom go out. "Very soon."


	2. In Danger

North, better known as Santa Claus, strode through his workshop, inspecting all of the toys that had been finished. He was the spirit of Christmas and Guardian of wonder. He chuckled as elves hurried around to give freshly baked cookies to overworked yetis, while trying to steal some for themselves as well. North snatched one off a plate and bit into it before continuing.

Christmas _was _months off (Easter was just last week) but the North Pole was in operation 24/7. You could never have enough toys. Satisfied that everything was going to plan, North turned to head towards the Globe Room to look at the Globe of Belief. He enjoyed sitting in his armchair, with a steaming cup of hot cocoa (with the little marshmellows, too) and watching the lights flicker for hours at a time.

There was one light in particular loved to watch. Jackson Overland was the boy's name, and he hardly a boy. At 16 years old, he kept his sister's belief alive and overall had the strongest belief in the world himself. His 17th birthday was this summer, and North doubted his belief would stop then. He lived in the English Colonies in the New Land with his younger sister, Pippa, and his mother, Mary. Their father had stayed in the England to earn good money to send to the family.

North smiled as a moonbeam shot through the open window in the roof of the Globe Room.

"Manny!" North said happily. "What is big news, old friend?"

The boombeam jumped to the Globe of Belief and jumped around until it landed on a specific light in the Colonies: Jackson's.

"What about Jackson?" North asked, confused. "He has been good boy, no?"

The light shook and turned black. North's eyes enlarged. He looked up to the Man in the Moon, only partly understanding.

"But Manny," he asked. "Who would want to hurt him?"

Another moonbeam hit the floor and took the shape of the all-too-familiar Boogeyman. North narrowed his eyes at the shape before turning to a control panel in front of the globe. He pushed down a lever, sending the Northern Lights into the sky, calling the other Guardians.

They now had a mission.

Jackson laughed as he held his little sister's hand as they ran throughout the sheep field behind their house. His little sister giggled as he picked her up and twirled her. He smiled. Everything was perfect.

He turned to hear someone calling their names, and saw his mother, Mary, and father, Chris. His eyes widened with joy - he hadn't seen his father since Pippa was born. Grabbing his sister's hand, they ran towards the parents. Pippa, seemingly even more excited than Jackson, pulled out of his grip and ran even faster.

Jackson stopped, gasping as darkness surrounded him. Black sand began to surround him and engulfed him.

Jackson's eyes shot open and he sighed, relieved it was just a nightmare. He then gasped seeing two yellow eyes looking at him from the darkness.

"Hello Jackson," a dark voice chuckled. "It's good to finally meet you."


	3. Operation Protection

Jackson gasped and fell off of the bed. He scrambled as far away from the eyes as he could until he hit a wall. He tried to control his fear and his breathing as the eyes came closer. The window opened suddenly, and the eyes darted towards the window, glaring and then disappearing.

A big man came through the window and put a hand on Jackson's shoulder. Jackson shook under the touch.

"It's okay, my boy," the man with the Russian voice gently smiled. He had bright, big blue eyes that shined in the darkness. They helped Jackson calm down. "You must listen to every word I say, though."

"I'll be back in a couple days, promise!" Jackson hollered as he rushed into the field.

The Sandman had stayed with Jackson all night long, and Jackson slept through the rest of the night with fun dreams of playing with his sister. As soon as he was out of sight, he hid his gun (he had told his mother he was going hunting) and ran for the woods.

He ran to the pond where the Guardians were waiting in North's sleigh. He smiled as Bunny helped him into the sleigh and they took off.

"Where we going?" Jackson hopped around.

"North Pole," Bunny growled. "Sit down before you fall out."

Jackson rolled his eyes and plopped down where he was.

"So who was that guy?" Jackson asked.

"Pitch Black," Tooth sighed. "The Boogeyman."

"Manny sent us to protect you, Jackson," North piped up. "Pitch is after you and only Manny knows why, but he won't tell us."

Bunny's ears dropped as Jackson's eyes grew wide in fear.

"Ay, don't worry, ya ankle-biter," Bunny patted Jackson's shoulder. "We won't let him get ya. And once this is all over, it's life back to normal."

Jackson nodded with uncertainty. He looked up cautiously.

"By the way," he requested. "Call me Jack. My mother and sister call me Jackson when they're angry at me."

He all slightly smiled.

_At least he trust us, _Bunny thought. _That's a good start. _


	4. Start of Something New

Pitch paced back and forth, his nightmares sticking to the shadows cautiously. Pitch was mad. No, he was _furious. _Jack was in his hands, and then that oversized pumpkin of a Guardian had to come to the rescue.

"Be patient, Pitch," he told himself. "You'll get the child in due time. Everything will go according to plan."

"Of course it will," said a familiar voice. Yellow eyes peered from the darkness. "And then we'll rule the world."

Laughs echoed throughout Pitch's lair.

* * *

Jack had fallen asleep hours ago. North had grabbed a spare blanket he kept in the sleigh and had wrapped the teenager in it. Sandy sat by Jack's head, twirling dreamsand over his head, giving him dreams about playing with his little sister. Tooth had sent the few mini fairies that had come with her back to her palace to be put in charge of collecting teeth for a while. They all needed to stay together for protect Jack.

Bunny reached a paw out and placed it in Jack's hair, slightly ruffling up his hair. Bunny chuckled as Jack's sleeping face turned into a sleepy smirk. Around that time the sleigh had landed in the North Pole, so Bunny scooped Jack into his arms and began carrying him into the workshop. Bunny smiled, only imagining the mischief Jack might cause trying to have some fun. After all, not many kids got to stay in the workshop.

Jack woke up a little ways before they reached the Globe Room. They led him in and North stood in his normal spot and looked up towards the moon. Jack watched with curiousity.

"Manny, we've got him," North spoke. "He is safe."

A moonbeam shot into the room and turned into a little ball of blue light, circling around Jack. Jack watched it in awe before it exploded into blue sparkles right in front of him. They fell onto the ground, forming a picture of a sheperd's staff. Then the image disappeared. Jack looked up at the moon, confused, but not questioning. He turned to the other Guardians.

"You talk to the moon?" he asked.

"Man in Moon is our leader," North explained. "He is the one that sent us to protect you." Jack looked up at the moon. "You're very important, Jack."

"But why?" Jack asked himself under his breath.

Jack's eyes widened when he saw a face appear on the moon's surface. It genuinely smiled at him before slowly disappearing.

Jack turned his head towards the door at the sound of several jingles. Elves burst into the room, carrying trays filled with cups of milk and plates of cookies. Each Guaridian recieved a tray, and Jack watched in awe as an elf ran to him and offered him a tray of his own.

"For me?" Jack asked, pointing to himself.

The elf smiled and nodded before holding the tray up again. Jack, still in shock, took the tray, and the elf led him to the seating area where the Guardians had already gathered around. As they happily munched their cookies and sip their milk, Tooth noticed Jack was just staring at his tray.

"You like cookies, don't you, Jack?" she asked. "And every boy needs milk to grow strong bones. You know, teeth are bones, too.."

"I ... I don't know," Jack confessed. "Milk's a luxury where I'm from, and I've never had cookies before." He looked up to meet the Guardians' confused looks. "My dad, Chris, died sortly after my sister, Pippa, was born. I was left to be the man of the family, and we weren't very wealthy to start out with, and it got even worse after Dad was gone. We're able to get by, but we starve a lot, and we barely have enough clothes to keep us warm."

Jack looked away to avoid the Guardians' pained looks of empathy. He had seen so little of the North Pole, but from what he saw, they lived in immortal luxury, something Jack would never have. They had all the food, clothes, and neccessities, along with basically everything else they wanted with a snap of their fingers. Jack worked for days hunting just to get, at the most, two nights worth of dinner. He took worn out fabric that had been thrown out to make their clothes. He had been reduced to stealing once just to get medicine he couldn't afford to save his mother's life.

"Jack," North sighed. "I may not know why you're important to Manny, or why Pitch wants you, but I do know this: you are destined for things much greater than your living situation now. Otherwise, you'd be back there, still fighting for survival, and not here."

Jack looked at North, his brown eyes locking with North's baby blue. He couldn't help but smile and hesitantely took a cookie, looking it over before biting into it. The Guardians watched in anticipation, and felt relieved when Jack smiled, dipping the cookie into one of the milk cups before taking another bite and giving another satisfied smile. He picked up the milk cup and took a long drink, leaving the Guardians to laugh at his milk mustache that was left behind. Jack smiled once again. He had a feeling he'd enjoy his time here.


	5. Baby Teeth

Jack twirled himself around in North's chair. As soon as he'd feel himself getting dizzy, he'd stop for a couple of minutes and watch North work on his ice sculpture. Jack wanted desperately to ask a specific question, and he figured now would be the perfect time to ask - when he and North were left alone for a little while.

"North?" Jack spoke up. "What can you tell me about Pitch?"

North stopped his work and thought for a moment before continuing.

"Pitch was common man, like you and me," North began. "Had beautiful daughter who was his life. She was raped and killed; he went crazy and killed every man involved, including their own wives and children." North sighed. "He was executed, but was somehow brought back as the Nightmare King. He's been trying to take over the world with fear ever since." North thought for a moment. "Jack, why were you on floor when I came?"

"I woke up from a nightmare to see a pair of yellow eyes looking at me," Jack explained. "I got scared and fell off my bed."

North's eyes filled with worry, and he turned away so that Jack wouldn't see. He smiled seeing his ice sculpture of a grand, beautiful snowflake sitting nearby. He picked it up and carefully set it into Jack's hands.

"Not too long ago," North explained. "Manny spoke to me. He told me a boy of ice would be born within the next couple of years. He is to be of great help in defeating Pitch. We will make sure you two meet after this is all over, da?"

Jack nodded in agreement and handed the sculpture back to North.

* * *

Pitch paced back and forth throughout his lair, trying to figure out how to lure Jack away from the Guardians long enough to catch him.

"Don't you understand?" the familiar voice spoke. Yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. "You have to threaten something he loves. What is the most important thing in the world to him?" Pitch thought, but the voice spoke again. "His sister." Pitch looked at the eyes in shock.

"The Guardians will have my head," he protested.

"Oh no," the voice chuckled. "We won't be taking the girl. She must stay oblivious to the situation. No, I'm talking about illusion."

Pitch smirked, catching on.

And that night, a nightmare snuck into the Tooth Palace and made away with a very important set of baby teeth.


	6. The Reason

"Jack?"

Jack had been walking along the railing in one of the many parts of the workshop. He stopped short upon hearing the familiar voice call out his name.

"Jack?"

"Pippa?" he whispered to himself.

"Jack!"

Jack shot off in the direction of his sister's voice. He ran past yetis and elves, who let him be, deciding he was just playing. Jack finally reached a more abandoned part of the workshop and his sister's voice began to become louder.

"Jack?"

"Pippa?" he asked a little louder.

"Jack?"

_Why won't she say anything else? _he thought as he continued down the hallway.

"Hello, Jack."

Jack gasped at the familiar voice and turned to see the same yellow eyes attached to the Boogeyman himself.

"It's so nice to finally meet you."

* * *

North walked through the workshop, inspecting toy after toy. He heard yetis talking about how fun it was to have Jack around, how nice it was to have a child to enjoy. The elves seemed to be annoyed by him, because he kept stealing cookies. Chuckling, North swiped up a cookie for himself, causing the elves to groan in annoyance.

Tooth flew into the workshop with a look of concern on her face. "North, we need to talk. Now."

"Yes, Toothy?" North asked, turning to see her right in front of his face, causing him to jump. He never did get used to her lack for personal space.

"A nightmare got into the Tooth Palace," she pulled away, zooming around the room as she talked. It was a nervous habit she had. "We couldn't catch it, and it was in and out within minutes. My fairies and I checked _everywhere _- _nothing _was taken. Not even a single tooth or coin. I'm worried, North."

"When did this happen?" North asked.

"Just a few hours ago," she replied. "I rushed over as soon as my fairies were calmed down and felt like they could handle everything themselves." She looked around. "Where's Jack?"

"Keep calm, Tooth," North put his hands on her shoulders. "Last I saw him, he was playing in the workshop with the elves. And that was less than a couple of hours ago. He was stealing cookies from them." Tooth chuckled at the thought, making North smile.

"Okay," Tooth calmed down. "I'll go visit Bunny and Sandy, see if they've seen anything out of the ordinary. If not, I'll just check in with you later. Bye North!"

"Bye Tooth!" he waved as she shot out a nearby window.

* * *

Jack shook in fear from the nightmares he was having as he laid on the cold floor of the cage he had been stuffed into. Bony fingers ran through his dark brown hair, chuckling as he shook under the touch.

"Don't worry, Jack," Pitch smirked. "This will all be over soon, and then you can go back to your normal, pathetic _mortal _life."

"Yes," the voice spoke. And out of the shadows, accompanying the yellow eyes, was ... _Pitch. _"And then Jack Frost will never rise to stop me."


	7. Rescue Pt 1

Manny looked down upon the shaking, nightmure-plagued teenager. When the two Pitches had left him alone, Manny sent a string of light through the only crack, making it land on the boy's face, providing him at least a little comfort and protection. This wasn't how Manny was hoping things would go, but now he understood why Jack would become to he was to become. He cared about his sister.

He cared about _children _more than his own life.

And that was what would make him a Guardian.

Manny began to float towards the North Pole, to begin phase 1 of his rescue plan. Everything had to go perfectly. Because Pitch made a terrible mistake traveling to the past. And Manny would right his wrong.

"But how could you lose him!" Tooth practically screamed as she zoomed around the Globe Room. "You know he's in danger, North! How could you take your eyes off of him for even a second! You should've had him walking around with you testing out toys, not running around all willy-nilly!"

"Tooth!" North tried to console her. "We will find him, everything will be alright, yes?" North thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up with an idea. "Manny watches over boy, yes? We ask Manny! He will know where Jack is!"

Just as Tooth was about to scold him once more, a moonbeam shot into the room, hovering around the room to acknowledge its presence, silencing everyone. The four Guardians looked out the sky window to see Manny in full view.

The moonbeam began to shine brightly until it became one of Manny's children: Nightlight.

"Nightlight," Bunny spoke. "Does Manny know where Jack is?"

Nightlight smiled. "He is no longer in danger. I have taken him home hours ago. Father saw you were worrying and told me to come tell you."

The Guardians nodded, seeming to feel better.

"Beware, Guardians," Nightlight warned. "Many things are about to happen that you will not understand, but all will end well."

And with that, he disappeared, leaving the Guardians confused.


	8. Rescue Pt 2

Jack finally woke from his nightmares and and huddled to get as much of the small amount of light Manny left him that he could. He sighed, shaking his head. He really should've known better. His sister didn't know a thing about what was going on. Why would she have been at the Pole?

Jack jumped when he heard several sounds of things colliding, along with two voices spitting out threats. One of them was Pitch's voice; the other he didn't recognize.

"My plan will go according to!" Pitch shouted. "Your father will not stop me! Jack Frost shall not rise!"

_Jack Frost? _Jack thought. _Who the heck is Jack Frost? _

"You have meddled too far, Pitch!" the second person spoke back. "My father will see to it you get what you deserve!"

A bright light made Jack cover his eyes, and when it disappeared, he opened his eyes to see a shining figure of a man in front of him. The man smiled at him and broke the lock of Jack's cage, opening the door.

"Come here, son," he smiled. Jack scrambled to the man, jumping into his arms, shaking with relief. "There, Jack. Calm down." He stroked Jack's hair, holding him tightly. "You are safe now." He pulled Jack away and made him look at him. "I am Nightlight, one of the Man in the Moon's many children. Pitch will not come after you anymore, I've made sure of it. I will take you home now."

He waved a hand in front of Jack's face, making him feel very sleepy. He laid his head on Nightlight's shoulder and fell into, for once, a peaceful sleep.

And when he awoke again, he was in the woods next to his gun. He thought for a minute. What was he doing out here! Oh, he was hunting! He grabbed his gun as he saw a deer walk by. It would make for a good meal tonight. He hurried after it, excited.

* * *

Manny and Nightlight both smiled as they watched Jack drag a deer back to the house, to his excited mother and sister, who were delighted to see him. Nightlight had sent the future Pitch back to the future, with no memory of these events. He erased the memories of these events to the current Pitch and Jack's. And the Guardians didn't question anything Manny did. Besides, Manny wanted them to remember Jackson Overland.

Manny and Nightlight watched as the summer passed and winter came and games of tag and hopscotch for the two Overland children became snowball fights and challenging each other to who could make the best snowman. Jack was now 17, and the ice was thinning on the lake as Jackson and Pippa headed towards it. After watching the memories unfold, Manny waited until little Pippa had run off for her mother, then resurrected Jackson Overland into who Manny knew he was always meant to be.

_You my boy, _he spoke as Jack rose from the pond. _Your name is Jack Frost. _


	9. Manny's Reasoning

_300 years later ..._

The Guardians congradulated Jack Frost on becoming a Guardian - Tooth with a breath-taking hug, Sandy with sand images going so fast that Jack couldn't follow, Bunny by annoying him by messing up his hair, and North by a big clap on the back that almost knocked Jack off his feet. He smiled, feeling like he finally belonged somewhere after 300 years alone. And he knew where he came from, which was the icing on the cake. But something still didn't feel right.

_I don't know why you are important to Manny. _

Jack jumped at the sound of North's voice in his head. Looking for North, he found him on the other side of the room, agruing with Bunny (again) that Christmas was once again more important than Easter. Sandy had fallen asleep again and Tooth was shouting commands to her fairies. Jack leaned against the doorway, closing his eyes and taking in the normality of everything here.

_I don't know why you are important to Manny. _

Jack's eyes shot open once more. He looked down to see his Tooth Box glowing in his hoodie pocket. He quickly looked to make sure none of the other Guardians were watching him before sneaking off to another room, settling on a window ledge and opening up the memories. It went through all of those events, and even more. It showed the two Pitches plotting to make sure Jack Frost never rose; it showed Manny and Nightlight watching over Jack as a human until his death; it even showed Manny telling the Guardians a winter spirit would come to help defeat Pitch.

Jack's eyes were watering by the time the memories were done. Manny _told _them. He told them himself that a winter spirit was coming (they had even protected Jack as a human) yet they ignored him once he was resurrected. A blizzard began outside, corresponding with Jack's mixed emotions. The wind rattled against the windows, trying to get inside to comfort its friend to no avail. Jack curled up into a ball and let the tears fall.

* * *

The Guardians watched the blizzard enrage outside, wondering what was going on.

"Don't you recognize me?" Jack's cracked voice spoke from behind them.

They turned to see the frost child's face covered in frozen tear stains, with bloodshot eyes and a mixed expression.

"Of course, mate," Bunny replied, confused. "You're Jack Frost."

"No!" Jack shook his head. "I look exactly the same! I just have different hair and eye color!"

Tooth gasped, realizing it first.

"Jackson Overland." Her voice shook.

The others' eyes widened, finally realizing it. Bunny's face turned even more infuriated than Jack's, and he turned to look up at the Man in the Moon.

"You had us protect him from Pitch just so he could die?" he shouted at Manny. "What kind of sick, twisted plan is that, Manny?"

"Bunny," North tried to calm him, but Bunny didn't listen.

"No, North!" Bunny snapped. "He knew that Jack was going to die, and he didn't do a thing about it! He couldn't have made the kid immortal some other way than that?"

"You must calm down, Bunnymund." Everyone turned to see two unnoticed moonbeams turn into Nightlight and one of his sisters, Stargaze. "We will explain."

"Nightlight," Bunny grumbled under his breath.

"Jackson Overland was meant to become Jack Frost from the moment he was born," Stargaze explained. "He was to become the spirit of winter, which meant he had to die during winter. All elementals have to die in their element to become who they are."

"Pitch tampered with destiny and fate," Nightlight continued. "Around this time, he traveled back in time to 300 years ago, the summer before Jack was to die. He knew that if Jack didn't die in that lake, he wouldn't become Jack Frost and be able to stop him 300 years later."

"You were saving a future Guardian by making sure his fate was carried out," Stargaze added. "If he had lived past that winter, Jack Frost wouldn't be here right now, and Pitch might have won."

The Guardians all looked at each other in understanding. The two siblings smiled at their accomplishment and disappeared before any more words could be said.

The silence following was broken when a window opened and a head popped in.

"Jack Frost," Chris Summers, the summer spirit, scowled. "Did you create a blizzard in Africa?" Jack shook his hand. "Mother Nature's up to her pranks again. Darn it. Okay, see ya!"

The Guardians laughed as the spirit rushed off to scold the pranking girl. Jack smiled, finally feeling like everything was finally right.


End file.
